1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related generally to laser devices and more particularly to laser devices that are optically pumped by semiconductor laser diode means.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Traditionally solid optically pumped lasers consist of a solid material wherein the optical gain in the material is generated by stimulated emission. The laser rod is normally optically pumped by a flash lamp or an arc lamp. Since most of the energy in these lamps is converted into heat, the flash lamp or arc lamp as a pumping medium is generally inefficient and the heat generated can sometimes damage the laser rod.
In an effort to develop more efficient solid state lasers which generate higher output power and have a longer life time, designers have begun to use lateral pumping means such as solid state laser diode arrays that are mounted on the side of a laser slab to be pumped to match the TEM.sub.00 mode volume defined by the laser cavity. Such a device has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,785,459 issued to Thomas M. Baer, on Nov. 15, 1988 which illustrates a solid state laser array as a pumping medium to match a zig-zag cavity resonance at a pre-selected fold angle between the lateral sides of the solid state laser. In this patent the divergence of the laser diode emissions is matched to the fold angle of the zig-zag path of the TEM.sub.00 beam through the block of the solid state laser material.